Voting begins on dull note in Delhi

New Delhi, Nov 29 (IANS) Polling in 69 assembly constituencies of the national capital began on a dull note Saturday as few people ventured out of their homes due to the chilly weather.The polling booths opened at 8 a.m. amid tight security. Poll officials said they expected voting to pick up by noon.

Polling for one seat has been deferred due to the death of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Puran Chand Yogi.

The Delhi Metro began started its service at 4 a.m instead of the usual 6 a.m. to facilitate people travelling to various polling booths. Over 10.5 million people will decide the fate of 863 candidates from 69 political parties.

Nearly 52,000 security personnel have been deployed in the capital. A total of 10,993 polling stations have been set up, of which over 1,500 have been declared sensitive and hypersensitive - a five-fold increase over the number in the last election.

The Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are contesting all 69 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting 68 seats. The Nationalist party has fielded 15 candidates while Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will be contesting 10 seats.